{"id":32884,"date":"2017-06-05T15:03:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T19:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=32884"},"modified":"2017-06-05T15:03:42","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T19:03:42","slug":"the-art-of-portraiture-part-2-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/the-art-of-portraiture-part-2-light\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Portraiture Part 2: Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

Light is a vital part of portraiture. Heck, it\u2019s a vital part of photography period. The word \u201cphotography\u201d literally translates \u201cto draw with light\u201d. There are many ways to introduce and use light in a portrait and we\u2019ll go into some of those ways and more in this second installment of my series: The Art of Portraiture<\/i>. In case you missed the first article, check out, The Art of Portraiture: Composition, Depth of Field and Background<\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

LIGHT SOURCES<\/b><\/h3>\n

Daylight and a Reflector<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Daylight is the cheapest and easiest way to light an image because most of a day, it is always there. The quality \u00a0or characteristics of it may change due to the weather, but it is always available. A photographer\u2019s optimal daylight situation is partly cloudy or overcast. This is mainly because when the sky is sunny and there are no clouds in the sky, first, there is no texture in the sky which is the result a cloud will insert into an image. Second, a sunny day tends to wash out colors. An overcast day will enrich colors. <\/span><\/p>\n

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A reflector was used on the left as I wanted to play with shadow and bright sunlight.<\/em><\/p>\n

Model: Daria Komarkova<\/em><\/p>\n

Typically, you will want to position your subject with their back against the light source. A reflector is key to have on hand regardless of the weather since there is nothing to bounce light back onto your subject like a white ceiling or wall would. Whether you are creating a headshot, 3\/4 shot or a full body shot, a large reflector is a terrific tool for bouncing a lot of light back onto your subject to fill in the shadows that appear under the eyes, nose, and neck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speedlights<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Speedlights are an inexpensive light source that can be used on- or off-camera. They tend to be a versatile tool and a more convenient solution than a monolight or strobe. <\/span><\/p>\n

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My Nikon SB-700 Speedlight.<\/em><\/p>\n

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While they are a tiny little light source, there light can be spread through the use of tilting its head and bouncing its light off of a wall or ceiling onto a subject, or it can be combined with a modifier such as an umbrella or softbox to widen its effect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Continuous Lights<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Continuous lights are as they are titled: <\/span>continuous<\/span><\/i> running lights. They do not flash like a speedlight, monolight or strobe would. Some of the benefits for using a continuous light are that many subjects tend to relax more under continuous lighting rather than a flash and that you can shoot wide open for a shallow depth of field. They are also great for shooting people that blink a lot. The downside to continuous lights is that you are limited on modifiers and a tripod is almost a must for the sharpest image when setting the shutter slower than sync speed. Continuous lights come in a few flavors: tungsten, fluorescent and LED lights.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Left to Right: Lowel Rifa 66ex \u2013 750 Watt Light<\/a>, Westcott Spiderlite TD6<\/a> and the Fiilex P360EX Variable Color LED Lights<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Images by Adorama.<\/em><\/p>\n

A few good recommendations I have tested and used in the past for continuous lights and that are available at Adorama are:<\/span><\/p>\n